Dear Friend I will be discussing my top 5 songs of the year. In this essay I will

5.

I’m neurodivergent. I don’t like admitting as much but I have a pretty serious disability. In rare instances when it is too much for me this song/album sets me right. Specifically the double saxophone part where they’re played at the same time in their solos. I’ve always been a sucker for saxophones with my parents get me interested in Kenny G at a very young age and me exploring other prolific saxophonists in their careers. Thomas Edinger (the guy!) is simply one of the best studio musicians in the works right now.

4.

Rather than the official music video which is just a visualizer of sorts, I take you to where I discovered the song. First off, why is Megamind here. Second off, I love this song. Since I discovered it two plus years ago, it’s been one of my most played songs of all time. The video is just a display of goth girls. But the song, the song! Genuinely my favorite Battle Tapes songs. It gets me energized and motivates me. If I’m ever out and not feeling into the music, I’ll pop this song on and get me hyped and then it’s downhill from there cause nothing competes.

3.

Hey Friend, remember this song from May. My Spotify did. 56 listens or 10 plus hours of this song this year. Weird string of events for this song, let’s follow it. 2020 rolled around and I was displaced, working as a dishwasher at the Cheesecake Factory, the only thing two of my coworkers could talk about was Cyberpunk 2077. Two years later after the abysmal launch of the game came an anime from Studio: Trigger, arguably one of the best anime studios. The final song in that show is by Rosa Walton and Hallie Coggins. These two I would find years later have other music, this year in fact. These two have a band called Let’s Eat Grandma. I would discover this song around the same time the movie of the same name was making runnings for my recommendations again. These two things coalesced and I ended up watching the movie shortly after discovering the song.

So to catch you up as a TLDR Cyberpunk 2077 – Cyberpunk Edgerunners – Ending Song of said show – Exploring there other stuff – Song discovered – Movie watched

2.

Magdalena Bay, discovered from a Mic the Snare end of year video last year. My favorite song off of Imaginal Disk. Plus I get to see them in 2026 at Kilby Block Fest. The sensational grooves and immaculate vibes. The angelic voices of Micah carry the words and the synths part the way. Fun little thing, the most played part on this video is the best part of the song where she goes even higher and BAM. 4:30 for those after you’ve listened to the song.

1.

Funnily enough, I found this from a meme video of people singing this to a teammate to encourage them acapella style. Since the Kendrick – Drake beef, J. Cole popped up more on my radar. I regret to say this is the only thing that I’ve really explored because a lot of his music hasn’t aged great. Still it’s my number one. The Cult’s sample is what draws me to the song and Amber Coffman adds a presence to the song that is unmatched. This seems like a bit of a unicorn in my music taste personally but because I like Tyler the Creator and his music style it might translate over. Or not, who knows.

Additional bits, this is the first year that my list isn’t clogged with my DND music, only three make the cut and two of them barely count since I listen to them outside of it too.

I might decide to release the playlist, we’ll see.

In the end, you will be alright Dear Friend.